Web of Terror
by HighTyrant
Summary: A grittier retelling of the Spider-Man tale. Is Peter Parker the one tangled up in or weaving the web of terror?
1. An Unlikely Hero

**Chapter 1: An Unlikely Hero**

"Peee-terr, it's time to wake up!" yelled the warm voice of an elderly female from down the stairs of the humble, two-floor house.

"Coming." replied a disgruntled Peter Parker.

Peter got out of bed. Stood up. Felt the blood rush to his head. He then walked to the mirror in his bedroom which was positioned diagonally, across from his bed. His hair was a deep, dark brown. It was short but messy from having slept - a mess Peter didn't care much to correct.

You see, Peter's sense of self worth was low. He was what is commonly referred to as "a high-school nerd". For this he was frequently picked on and without any relief. However Peter wasn't passive, nor did he like to take it. Far from being one who could adapt to his circumstances, Peter struggled every day, cold eyed and hard-hearted. There were some things which enticed him to endure the day.

For one, Peter took a great sense of relief and harmony out of biology. He saw it as a pageant of life, of happiness. He loved looking at things on a microscopic level and he loved looking at organisms in their populations. Perhaps he imposed these values on nature to cope with the loss of his parents. That's right, Peter's parents had died. They died in a lab accident. Their death was something that had a profound sub-conscious effect on Peter. It made him insecure and afraid of loosing what he valued - afraid of commitment. However weak-willed this may seem, it also came with a great strength, a protective quality.

Peter's eyes were a plain and placid brown. They stared neutrally into the abyss of the world - at all the monsters which appeared before them.

The sun shined through the window, the beams of light gracefully fell upon the floor of Peter's room before his feet as he stood before his mirror, getting ready for the day.

He wore plain shirts, which were a bit-too small, and he also wore fairly worn-out jeans. This was on account of his current-family's financial situation. His uncle Ben, as good intentioned as he was, made a living as an electrician and had trouble adapting with all the modern technology which was developing practically at light speed.

Peter was of an average height and average build, slightly muscular, fairly intellectual (especially given his fascination with biology). He was a typical lower-middleclassman. A student, Peter was in his last years of high school. He struggled against certain oppressors (teachers, bullies and whatnot), yet he wasn't at the bottom of the ladder. Deep behind his struggle, unbeknownst to him, unbeknownst to every individual in the herd, lay a sense of passion and nobility, which would soon be brought forth and put to the test.

Peter looked fairly innocent. He had smooth, slim, symmetrical facial features and due to the braces he had in middle-high his teeth were very straight. If he didn't stand out as such "a nerd", he could've had a shot with women.

After having gotten ready Peter walked down the stairs to join his elderly aunt May and his uncle Ben for breakfast. May and Ben Parker were kind and loving grey-haired guardians for Peter and brought him up in a warm and hospitable environment - one where he could grow. Their faces were wrinkled but kind.

Peter put on a black coat over his white shirt and walked out the door of his aunt and uncle's humble, brown house. He was headed for Midtown High on a cold, breezy October day.

"Spiders," Peter's Biology teacher went on, "are an amazingly unique class of creatures, unlike the common insect. They have their own unique ways-of life. There are also a wide variety of them"

'Spiders,' Peter thought to himself, 'I'd love to live as a spider… They live like kings. They're the predators. No one messes with them.'

Behind Peter, his classmate Flash Thompson threw a crumpled sheet of paper at him.

"GYM AFTER CLASS" it read.

Flash was of a big build. He was strong, came from an affluent background. He was popular and good with women. He came from the noble, nordic stock. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was everything Peter was not. Because of their difference in position Flash often called Parker "Creeper".

"Creeper, give me all your lunch money" Thompson would say.

"Creeper, too creepy for the ladies?" Thompson would say something along those lines whenever Peter saw him with groups of girls. Those girls would giggle, like girls do.

Peter's feelings often verged on hatred if it weren't for his family's love being there to pacify him, like peace after a day of struggle - Peter's war. There was a repressed bitterness inside. There was, however, another thing Peter had going for him, which enticed him to live another day. Peter had a next-door neighbour, a childhood friend, a girl he had felt as though he was deeply connected with since he first looked into her eyes - Mary-Jane Watson.

As kids they had promised to marry one another, and that hopeless, childhood hope kept Peter hoping and it kept him going on. Peter would often cast glances at Watson from a distance. They had grown apart since middle-school, but Peter was working up the courage to talk to her someday.

His hopes with Watson were crushed on this very day.

After class, Parker went to his locker, opened it, put his books in -CRASH- only to have Flash Thomson slam it in his face.

"Come with me Creeper" Thomson said aggressively and impatiently.

"Can't we talk this through over a nice cup of tea?" Peter sarcastically jested.

"Shut the hell up!"

Thomson shut the gym door behind them.

"Gymnastics practise is cancelled for today, so it's just you and me Parker.

We've got to talk."

Thompson slugged Peter in the gut. Peter winced and fell forward.

"You think you can stare at my bitch.. BITCH!" Thompson yelled.

"Nice choice of words." Peter grumbled on his knees.

"What was that?!" Thompson yelled as he smashed Peter in the face.

Peter's mouth and nose were bleeding immensely at this point and he couldn't hold back the tears.

"Ok-ok Flash!" Peter said as he held his hands out in front of him.

The brutality and strength of Flash Thompson easily wore him down and broke his frail build.

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked.

"Mary-Jane is mine." Flash stated overbearingly.

Peter felt emptiness in his stomach. He felt his heart sink and he felt nauseated. Looking at the excessive Bleeding, Thompson decided he had done enough and walked out the gym. After Thompson left Peter started sobbing. Unbeknownst to him, outside the gym, a long blonde-haired, blue eyed, attractively-cute girl named Gwen Stacy heard his broken-hearted sobs. She walked into the gym.

"Peter," she said into the Darkness, after which she heard sniffling.

"Please go away." said a distraught Peter.

Gwen Turned on the lights only to see Peter on his knees. Black, bleeding, bruised and sobbing he sat there, hands over his face.

"Oh my god!" Stacy exclaimed. "We've got to get you cleaned up. Who did this to you? Was it Flash Thompson? If so you should really tell Pa-"

"No.." Parker interjected. "It'll only make things worse.. besides.. I got the message and he had a point to make… surprisingly"

"He didn't have to make it like this!" Stacy exclaimed in response. "Don't you think this is a bit much?!"

Gwen Stacy sat on the gym benches with Peter, wiping his face with some soaked paper towel. Peter wondered why a random girl such as herself, of a much higher social status than he, would approach him.

'Oh well,' Peter thought to himself.

'Those are thoughts for another day.'

In his depression, Peter failed to notice a beautiful moment which was unfolding right before his eyes. A golden light and a ray of sunshine had fallen before his eyes yet he was blind. He could not awaken to the living dream playing out before his eyes.

Peter and Gwen lived fairly close together, and Gwen insisted she walk home with Peter. Peter's spirits were set on the prospect of going home, and whilst walking with Gwen he espoused his eagerness to relax with his family. He felt slightly disturbed by the fact he was being helped by a woman. It further reinforced a developing inferiority complex. Peter sighed at the thought of his saviour but felt slightly touched at the same time.

"Won't they worry about those bruises on your face?" Gwen asked.

"Don't worry about it" Peter remarked and jokingly winked, even though he knew there would probably be repercussions.

"Peter! What happened to you?!" exclaimed aunt May in a worried tone.

"I swear, I'll beat down whoever did this to you son!" yelled uncle Ben with sorrow and anger.

"Don't worry," Peter said calmly.

"I've got it all sorted out. You should've seen what I did to him. Anyways, the issue has been resolved. I know I shouldn't have resorted to violence but it was in defence." Peter said "You should've seen what I did to him" with deep seated cynicism and bitterness.

"What was the scrap over Peter?" asked uncle Ben.

"A girl." Peter said. "I'd like to leave it at that."

Peter loved his aunt and uncle, he loved them as if they were the kindest and best of parents. He tried to always be supportive of them and honest to them. They were always warm and supportive as well. It was a mutually beneficial accommodation. They were one of the few things Parker had going for him. He could at least rely on a familiar and consistently fulfilling family relationship.

Peter rested his head on the warmth and softness of his pillow. He fled from the problems of his day and his concerns for the next. Peter Parker sunk deep into the depths of his mind, deep into the depths of his soul. He explored other worlds. He dreamt of strange urban environments, distorted versions of Manhattan. He dreamt of industrial complexes, conflicts, triumphs, brutality, dreariness and misery. He dreamt of love, but he also dreamt of destruction. He dreamt of family but he also dreamt of being singular, separate from his worldly binds.


	2. Hazard or Miracle?

**Chapter 2: Hazard or Miracle? **

With weary eyes, Peter Parker awoke and grabbed his glasses from his side table. He woke up feeling the same sickeningly-empty feelings from yesterday, as if he had nothing to look forward to. He just wanted to go back to sleep. Hearing about Flash Thompson and Mary-Jane's relationship tore him apart from the inside. Parker arose from his bed, put on his clothes (a white t-shirt and jeans), left his room, and walked down the stairs of his house. Outside of his room there was a hallway which connected to a bathroom and at the end of the hallway was his aunt and uncle's room. Beside the hallway was the staircase which led down to the kitchen and the living room. Peter walked into the sunlit kitchen, welcomed by the concerned faces of his parents (his aunt and uncle).

"Are you ok Peter?" asked uncle Ben.

"I'm fine, I just needed a good night's sleep."

"Your face looks better." aunt May said, hoping to evoke more positive emotions out of Peter. This was also somewhat true as the swelling and bruising had reduced.

"You missed dinner with us last night." said uncle Ben, in a manner that suggested he sincerely wished he could've eaten with the child he raised, his son.

"I'm sorry uncle Ben" said Peter apologetically and sincerely.

The doorbell rang. Aunt May walked from the kitchen to the front door, she then unlocked and opened it.

"Peee-terr!" Aunt May called from the living room.

"What?!"

"You've got a visitor.. It's a girll"

Feeling slightly embarrassed Peter got up out of the chair he was sitting at while eating breakfast. His uncle gave him a curious smile as he left. By the front door, he put on his coat, slung his bag over his shoulder, only to see a pretty, medium height, blonde haired, blue eyed girl standing outside.

"Hey Peter," Gwen Stacy said warmly.

"How're you feeling?"

"Better." lied Peter, still feeling broken up over the previous days events. Behind all of his interactions that's all Peter could think of. 'How could Mary-Jane betray their childhood promise like that? Didn't it mean anything to her?'  
His usual neutrality with occasional emotional peaks had turned into a sinking feeling which was displayed through a grimace he couldn't seem to wipe off his face.

Stacy had arrived to walk with Peter to school, and so that's what they did. They had a field trip today, to a biology laboratory. This was a part of the unit on spiders which Peter was studying in his biology course. They were going to look at new species of spiders. The prospect of this remotely cheered Parker up, although it pained him to think of seeing MJ and Flash Thompson together at the lab. As Parker got on the bus numerous peers of his would try to stick their feet out and trip him. As Parker walked by Flash, Flash stuck his leg out at the last minute, tripping poor Peter. From the floor of the bus Peter glared at Flash.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" aggressively asked Flash, who was sneering down at Parker.

"Leave him alone Flash." said Mary Jane, who sat beside Flash.

"Alright babe, no worries, just having fun with my main man, Creeper."

"His name is Peter" Mary-Jane clarified.

Peter walked further back on the bus, only to find Gwen had saved a spot for him.

"Hey Pete" she said.

'Pete,' Peter thought to himself.

'I haven't had a classmate call me that before.'

At least Peter felt like he had a friend, that thought warmed him.

It may have just been Peter's imagination, but it felt like Mary-Jane kept looking over at he and Stacy, who were partners for the tour of the lab. MJ was with Flash. Peter could feel the tension, he could feel it in the rigidity of his neck every time he'd turn to look at MJ and he felt it every time he saw MJ quickly looking away from him and Gwen. Occasionally he would also catch Flash glaring at him.

The lab was very high-tech. It was filled with tanks and drums for liquids, machinery, beakers and burners, and there were a ton of different kinds of spiders in display cases.

As they approached one of the tanks the guide said, "These spiders are some of the first to be genetically modified through nuclear technology. They've all been exposed to different amounts of radiation, however, apparently one of them escaped, we have yet to retrieve its body, but it is presumed to be dead."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Gwen Stacy asked.

"Like I said," the tour-guide responded. "It is presumed to be dead, we just have to retrieve its corpse."

The group moved along, but Peter stayed behind looking into the display case, trying to count the number of spiders. He felt the bulk of Flash Thompson approach from behind. Thompson's hand grabbed on his shoulder.

"What did we say about peeking, Peter?" Flash said intimidatingly.

"Leave it alone Flash, I'll leave you alone, I promise."

"It's not me I'm worried about. Stop fucking glancing at my girlfriend."

"Alright Flash," Peter said anxiously. "I'll stop. Just leave me alone."

And with that, Flash smacked the back of Parker's head and moved on.

It was so weak. It hadn't eaten for days. This was on account of the level of sanity and hygiene that was maintained in the lab. It weaved its one last web from the ceiling downwards. It landed upon a soft surface. It sunk its teeth into the surface. With one last bite it felt itself fade away.

While he was walking back over to the rest of the group, to join up with Gwen, Peter felt a sharp pain in his hand.

"Owww" he hissed to himself. He looked at his hand. On the back of his hand was a swollen mark, as if something had pierced through his skin. A trickle of blood ran down the wound and upon being touched pus burst out. Red lines were also emerging out from the wound.

'A spider bite?' Peter thought.

'Ah well. What the hell do I care anyways? What do I have to loose?' Peter reflected over the situation with MJ as he said this.

Perhaps the question should've been: what does he have to gain?

"You don't look so good." said Gwen Stacy as she and Peter walked home from school together.

It was true, Peter didn't feel good. He felt woozy and nauseated. He felt poisoned and intoxicated. He could barely walk in a straight line. He casually glimpsed at his hand in his pocket, only to find that his wound had now blackened, the red lines had expanded, and the surrounding skin around the wound was purple. Peter put his hand back in his pocket with feelings of broken emotionlessness.

"Would you like to know what that feud with Flash was about, Gwen?" Peter said almost drunkenly.

"What?" she inquired eagerly.

"It was about Mary-Jane Watson."

"What about her?"

"Flash and I, we both have feelings for her. His "feelings" probably don't lie in his heart either"

"That's probably true." said Gwen cynically.

"I had no idea you had feelings for her though Peter."

"We've been friends since we were kids"

With that last statement, Peter experienced a flashback. He and Mary Jane were climbing up the tree in her backyard. Peter was trying to reach a birds nest to look inside.

"Go get 'em Tiger!" young MJ yelled in excitement.

Young Peter smiled down on her. Carefully he brought the nest down and they stared together at it with fascination. After some time had passed, Peter and MJ got a ladder to put the bird's nest back. Peter climbed up it while MJ held it. Peter had used the ladder before with his Uncle. As Peter was coming down the ladder, after putting the Nest back, the ladder started shaking, and Peter fell. His body landed with a thud on the grass. When he opened his eyes he saw MJ crying over him with the sun shining behind her head. Even in tears she looked divine.

Gwen thoughtfully stared at Peter, seeing something more than just a bland intellectual. She saw it when she met him in the gym too. He had passion, he had deep feelings. There was more than just a neutralized intellectual.  
Peter on the other hand, was on the verge of passing out. He stumbled along. His face was now as white as a ghost and there were purple bags under his eyes.

"Gosh Peter," Gwen said. "You should go to the doctors or something. You really don't look so good at all."

By this point they had arrived at Peter's house. Peter weakly smiled at Glen. Straightened his back and tried to walk normally to the door.  
When he got inside he called to his uncle and aunt.

"Guys!" he yelled weakly. "I'm not feeling so good. I think I'm going to go to bed.'

"Peter," his uncle Ben replied warmly. "Glad you're home. Are you sure you don't want dinner with us?"

"Can't uncle Ben. I'm so sorry. I really can't"

Peter slammed his bedroom door behind him. The world was spinning and he was blacking out. He looked at his hand. It was dripping pus and blood and the area that he had been bitten was massively swollen.

'I was probably bitten by a poisonous spider.' thought Peter.

'I probably should've gotten it checked out.'

By this point Peter had passed out. Little did he know something was going on inside, something which would affect him on a much larger scale. Peter was reborn in that very moment, quite literally. His heart stopped from the bite, his brain stopped functioning, but when the venom from the bite had spread throughout his body, the spider DNA in it bonded with his own. This strange phenomenon was on account of the spider DNA being reactive after having been experimented on with nuclear radiation. This allowed his body to adapt to the venom which got it functioning again - back up and running, however, it also mutated him. His heart started beating, his mind turned on, but something was much different now. Peter had become an amazing Spider-Man.


	3. Lust for Power

**Chapter 3: Lust for Power**

"Terribleness is part of greatness: let us not deceive ourselves."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Startled, Peter Parker awoke with an astonished gasp. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was walking home with Gwen Stacy. He then recalled the bite, the source of his poisoned condition. His body felt different. It felt and was entirely healed. It also felt as though he had new body parts, new features, as accessible as his limbs and muscles. Peter gazed at his arm. He was doing something to it. What? He couldn't quite tell. It felt as though it was coated in strong, sticky pricks. He put his hand on a stack of books on his desk, only to find that when he lifted it, a book was stuck to it.

'Weird.' he thought to himself curiously.  
He utilized the same feature on the other arm. He then stuck both of his hands on the wall only to find he could lift himself, practically do a chin-up, without exerting himself. He used the feature on his feet. The next thing he knew was that he, Peter Parker, was crawling on the wall at a very fast speed. He felt much stronger, much faster, and that he was. Peter felt incredible, fantastic, powerful.  
He took an old chin up bar from his bedroom closet, only to find he could bend it with ease.

"What on earth?" he gasped.  
Peter Parker felt like something had changed, like what was once a feeling of bland, distant intellectualism or neutrality, had turned into a feeling of exuberance.

There was another feature which Peter could feel inside of him. It felt like their was another organ inside of him - a pouch. It felt as though it was connected to his wrists through vein-like tubes. He looked at his wrist and pumped the pouch inside of him with great ease. All of a sudden a tiny hole in his wrist, connected to the tube, opened up with a thick string of webs. Peter vomited into a nearby garbage bin.

Trying it again now he shot a web on the ceiling and found he could lift himself by it.

"Hiya Pete," said uncle Ben as Peter merrily walked down the stairs.

"Hey Ben," responded Peter warmly.

"How're you feeling champ?"

"Much better.. Great actually. I don't know what came over me yesterday, but, well.. I'm feeling like a champ today." Peter lightly laughed as he said that.

"You look nice today dear." aunt May said as she walked into the kitchen to serve up some breakfast casserole.

Peter was wearing a his nice, button-up shirt and his good jeans. He was feeling confident today.

"Looks delicious aunt May." Peter said with sincerity as she served him breakfast.

"It's good to see you're back in your spirits dear."

"Aunt may, my spirits are soaring."

"How're you feeling?" asked Gwen Stacy as she met Peter outside of his house.

"You look good." she added.

"Gwen, I feel GREAT." Peter said.

He did. And he and Gwen chatted to one another more excitedly than they had before. Peter spoke of how he enjoyed a particular species of spiders at the laboratory exhibit yesterday and Gwen agreed.

"How're you feeling about MJ?" Gwen asked, concerned.

"Well," said Peter. "Let's just say Flash Thompson won't be bothering me about her anymore." Peter grinned, he grinned a grin much more sinister than Gwen Stacy could realize.

Gwen found Peter's newfound confidence to be quite attractive, although she had had feelings for him before this moment. Since she saw him in the gym, she saw something emotionally deep to him and she had only found this to be the case more-so after he confessed that he had long-time feelings for M.J. Gwen hadn't found many males attractive before, finding them to be rugged and brutish, however there was something chivalrous, noble, dignified and even feminine to Peter. Peter was begging to grow close to Gwen as a friend as well. Enjoying the fact that, so far, she seemed to be reliable.

The two new friends arrived at school and headed for class. Peter had world history first, followed by english and then lunch. Lunch was when he and Flash were going to engage in their rendezvous. Peter figured Flash would be out to get him after the episode yesterday in the Lab. Due to their environment Flash was incapable of doing much, but on school grounds there were much more places to sneak about.

"Parker!" Flash yelled at Peter as he slammed his locker in his face. Bemused, Peter confidently raised an eyebrow.  
"Listen up you Creeper, son-of-a-bitch!  
Because of you M.J broke up with me, said she didn't like my behaviour around you!  
This is your fault dickweed! Yours! And boy am I going to make you pay. I'm going to make you my bitch.  
Come with me!"

As Peter followed Flash out to an alley near the school grounds, Peter felt a rush of excitement.

'Flash doesn't know what's in store for him' Peter thought to himself and giggled.

Flash cast a glare at Peter as he did this.

"Oops" Peter said sarcastically.

"What the fucks a matter with you?" Flash growled as he angrily held Peter against the alley wall.

"Flash," Peter said. "Stay away from M.J. She's mine."

With that Flash Thompson punched Peter Parker in the face with all of his might. He withdrew his fist from Parker's face. Peter was unscathed.

"I'll say it again." Peter said, now grabbing Flashes wrists. "M.J is mine."

With that Peter snapped Flash's wrists like they were toothpicks. Flash screamed a horrible scream as Peter Parker smugly walked away.

Peter felt ecstatic. He felt powerful. He felt like he was the master now, not stuck gazing at the skies from a mediocre life. He sat in biology for third period and thought to himself, 'I am the spider'.

**"Professional Fighting Match: Fighters Wanted"** read an ad in the paper.  
Peter was at home during the evening as he read this. A few weeks had passed since the incident with Flash. Things had been good for him, he wasn't picked on, he was free to look at M.J. Flash seemed terrified of him and more timid and withdrawn in general. Flash also had casts on his wrists and had spent two weeks in the hospital. Peter and Gwen had become even closer, to the point of close friends.  
Peter Parker was taking it easy and loving life, however, he wanted more. First of all, he wanted to make some cash, potentially a wardrobe update. With his great power could come great rewards. Secondly, he wanted to use his powers again. This is why he was looking over the job listings in the news, this was also why he was specifically reading over the ad for the fighting match.

A few nights passed, and the night of the fight arrived.

"I'm going out tonight." Peter called to his aunt and uncle who were finishing dinner in the kitchen.

"Let me give you a lift, Peter." said his uncle casually and supportively.

"I'm fine." Peter responded.

"Nonsense!" Ben exclaimed. "Let your old man help you every once and awhile. That's what I'm here for." He said this warmly.

"Where are you headed?" Peter's uncle asked as they got in the car. "Gwens?"

"The library." Peter lied. He suggested that as it was close to the arena he was going to fight at.

They drove into the night. As they drove Peter's uncle decided it was time he had a word with the child he raised.

"Peter, listen, we should talk.  
You see, you've been really confident as of late. Your Aunt and I think it's great you and Gwen are friends and that you've got a girl in your life. It's just, don't let things get to your head. You've got to look out for yourself, for what's best for yourself. See to it you don't abuse or neglect what you value. **With great power comes great responsibility**."

Peter sighed as his uncle said this.  
'What would he know of great power?' thought Peter.  
Peter gazed out the window as the car came to a stop outside the library.

"Peter," his uncle said. "I love you. You're my son, you know that?"  
"I know Ben." Peter said. "I love you too.  
Now, I'll see you after I'm done studying!"

Peter's uncle drove away and Peter headed for his big match. He arrived at the arena the fight was taking place in. It was a big and shabby building from which music was blaring and drunken crowds were cheering. As Peter walked in he was faced with neon stadium lights. In the centre of the arena, surrounded by seating, a large, muscular man wearing tights smashed himself, led by his elbow, onto the back of a more-frail looking opponent/victim. After signing up with a man who received Peter's signature reluctantly, Peter watched the preceding fights leading up to that of his own. Peter felt smug, like he could handle this with ease. He knew exactly what he would do. It was his turn, he was up.

"Next up," the announcer claimed excitedly. "The Predator!"

Peter chose that name out of his interest in biology. He walked on the stage wearing a hoodie and a ski-mask. The crowd laughed and booed him.

"I'm going to waste you." the bulky looking wrestler facing Peter said.

"You're the one that looks like garbage to me." Peter replied. "And those spandex, real stylish." he said sarcastically.

"I'll break every bone in your body, twerp!" barked the wrestler aggressively.

The fight was on. Peter walked forward. The wrestler went in to grab Peter. Any style of fighting went in this match, and the style Peter chose was highly unorthodox. Without even putting up his guard, Peter punched the wrestler in the face. Peter's fist was almost too fast to see and it smashed into the wrestlers face incredibly hard. The wrestlers cheekbone immediately shattered and the man started howling with pain. He clutched his face and fell the the floor. The whole right side of the facial-part-of-his-skull had been smashed inwards, broken into a ton of fragments. The wrestler's right eye oozed out of his battered, indiscernible face.

"We have a winner!" yelled the announcer in the face of an astonished crowd. The announcer lifted Peter's hand in victory.

Peter was in the back room on the second floor of the arena. A fat jew, with curly hair and big brows, was counting his stacks of cash inside - cash acquired through betting.

"Here's your 150." he said as he handed Peter 3 bills, two hundreds and a fifty.

"That's all?" asked Peter, bewildered by this mans greed.

"That's all. Now gettha fuck out of here!"

Peter stood outside the mans office, contemplating robbing the man himself, when all of a sudden, the man who was in the meeting after Peter's burst out of the room with a bag full of cash. Peter smiled as he watched the man book it down the second floor staircase. The fat jew panted as he pathetically hopped along after the robber.

"Good luck with that." Peter said sarcastically.

The man cast him a hopeless yet dirty look.

Uncle Ben was parked outside of the library. He had decided he would wait on Peter and give him the warm surprise of a lift home. He regretted how things went with Peter in the car.

'I didn't mean to patronize him.' thought uncle Ben.  
'I just don't want him making similar mistakes as I did in my youth. I regret all the worthy things that I tossed down the drain and neglected.'

Uncle Ben sat with the heater in the car, comfortably and eagerly waiting for his nephew, but ultimately the child he viewed as a son. Ben reached for the radio. He heard a smash. The window by the drivers seat had just been broken by an unknown assailant. Ben was ripped out of the car, he tried to grapple with the assailant.

"You fucking old shit!" the assailant screamed.

"Please, don't take my car, I want to drive my son home!" yelled Ben.

"Take this fuckface!" the assailant said this as he proceeded to pull out his switchblade. He stabbed Ben, over and over again in the gut. People nearby screamed. Ben gasped. Ben felt the pain of the blade tearing into his organs. He felt blood pour out of his stomach. Ben Parker fell to the ground.

"Get back soon dear." May had said to him in their warm, humble house before he left.

"I'll have a midnight snack ready for the both of you." she smiled as she said this.

As Peter walked outside the arena he saw a crowd of people around the library. With a bad feeling in mind, he rushed over. There were police cars and an ambulance nearby. Peter heard words like: "old man", "dead", "stabbed", "car stolen". He pushed through the crowd and when the scene of the crime became visible he darted past the police line put in place. Tears welled up in his eyes as he kneeled down over and held his uncle Ben's upper body in his lap.

"Ben!" Peter yelled to the nearly lifeless Ben Parker.

Ben's eyes wearily opened.

"Peter," he gasped. Tears were flowing down Peter Parker's face, and tears welled up in Ben Parker's eyes as he slowly passed away in his rightful son's arms.  
Peter Parker had lost one of the few good things in his life. Peter remembered the words of Ben and felt a deep sense of regret over his inconsideration towards his uncle. He had failed to take responsibility, but he was prepared to do whatever he could even still. He had to act, despite the fact he didn't know what he was doing or where he was going.

He had found out of the location the assailant was headed to after overhearing some police talking with a group of witnesses about the crime. With his ski mask and sweater on, Peter Parker followed the assailant, who Parker recognized due to the fact that he was driving Ben's car. Peter leapt from one side of a building to the other, web-slinging too. He had vengeance on his mind and he wouldn't rest until his heart was appeased. Peter was very cold-minded despite his overflowing emotions - his burning heart. He know his values had been violated, and he knew he had to re-assert his place. All organisms have to guard their territory, their values - for success and for survival. This was his sense of biology kicking in.

They were in a warehouse now. Peter had chased the assailant down. The assailant was positioned by a window on one of the upper floors, Peter followed him up the stairs.  
Upon hearing the nose of Peter's footsteps the assailant exclaimed, "fucking show yourself!" Peter came out of the shadows of the staircase onto the upper-floor.

"You killed Ben Parker."

"Yeah, that's right I did, got away because of it, and who are you? Peter Parker perhaps? Sounds like it and it only makes sense given the fact that he's your uncle.  
We go to school together. The name is Cliff Baker. I've seen you from afar.  
I'd like to rape that bitch you're always with.. what's her name.. Gwen Stacy? I bet it'd be nice to pop her cherry. Mmm." Baker pulled out his blade as he said this.

This was responded to with a web to the face. Using the string of webbing he shot at the assailant's face, Peter Parker pulled, and ripped off the assailants face. The assailant screamed the most brutal, heartfelt and pained scream Peter had ever heard, worse than anything from the movies. Peter pulled of his mask and smiled, a sinister smile.

"Good luck getting any girls with a face like that.  
and enjoy bleeding out." Peter said trying to maintain a smile so as to further scare the assailant.

Thoughts of Ben made Peter's heart sting and his heart rage. He took the assailant's switchblade and held the knife to the assailant's eyes. Peter Parker then proceeded to carve the assailant's eyes out while the assailant screamed his last, shrill screams.

The cops arrived at the warehouse a few hours later on that night. When they arrived they were mortified by what they saw. The assailant was wrapped in webs and hanging from the ceiling. His face had been mutilated and skinned and blood drenched the floor.

Peter Parker and his aunt May spent the rest of the night crying together. Many days were spent like this afterwards.


	4. Hero or Menace?

** Chapter 4: Hero or Menace?**

"SPIDER-MAN: HERO OR MENACE?"  
-Daily Bugle Headline

From the Daily Bugle, November 1:  
"Spiderman, what or who is it? On October 21, a man named Cliff Baker was ruthlessly murdered in a warehouse after having committed a murder and after having stolen a car. The man who Baker murdered was an electrician and family man who's name was Benjamin Parker.  
"What makes this case weird is Baker's death in particular." said Police Chief Wright.  
"Baker was wrapped in webs and his face had been brutally mutilated. It was unlike anything my men have ever seen."  
Currently the police don't know what to make of this situation. They've named the culprit "Spider-Man", but they seem conflicted as to whether or not his intentions were heroic or more sinister. Will we see more of Spider-Man? Has he been seen at any point before this?  
Some witnesses claim that a few weeks ago they saw someone gliding through the sky using what looked like ropes, but which were later determined to be webs…"

It was mid-November - cold outside. Peter Parker's life had dramatically changed. He was constantly broken up over Ben and constantly breaking down over Ben. He and May would often times cry while reminiscing about Ben and looking over photo-albums. There was one picture in particular which choked Peter up. He and his uncle were in their backyard, both with wide grins on their face, Ben had his arm wrapped around Peter's shoulder in a fatherly way. Peter remembered that day in October, how his uncle played with him in a leaf pile in their backyard. That was close to the time of Peter's parents death, maybe a year or two after. Ben was like a father to him.

Peter had always been distant, isolated and somewhat cold even. This was on account of his more scientific personality and the hardships he had to endure with his parents and with school. Being cold was an adequate coping method, it helped Peter's intelligence by making him more theoretical and coldly logical, and it helped his charisma by making him keen and quick witted. Despite his coldness, however, there were certain things which he needed for warmth, comfort and satisfaction. Ben was one of these things, and without him Peter felt all the colder, all the more alone. He felt like he had to hold onto May before she was next. Peter even found himself feeling quite a lot of concern over Gwen Stacy. He felt responsible to make things safe for the ones he loved.

While Peter had May to support him, there was another source of vitality in his life. His new-found abilities. By this point Peter had anonymously purchased a custom-designed costume. It was vibrant and majestic. The chest portion was red, the back portion blue, the arms were red, up to the knees of the costume was red, the rest of the legs were blue. He had a red mask with two big, aggressive and sharp looking eyes. Peter thought the eyes would be an effective fear tactic. The costume was also made of material that expanded, allowing his webs to shoot through it. On the chest of the costume was a spider symbol, and the red portions of the costume were decorated with a spider web design.  
Peter would roam the city at night, practicing his abilities and looking to prevent scum from surfacing, like it did with uncle Ben. He had to take responsibility with his power now. It was his job to be preventative. A few nights ago, he had saved a woman from getting gang-raped in a back alley. That had yet to be reported.

She had been beaten down into submission. Her face was battered and bloody and her screams were crackled by blood in her throat and lungs. They had kicked and broken one of her ribs. One of them ripped off her top. They were all of the african-american descent.

"Now you're going to give it to me, hoe!" yelled the man who ripped her top off with a grin.

All of a sudden a flash of red and blue came down on a web from the sky. Peter Parker, who was now Spider-Man, had a unique ability to detect danger, which he called his "spider-sense". When danger was about, it felt like Peter's whole body was tingling and his mind would be filled with a bad feeling.  
He had pursued the strength of this feeling until he arrived at the crime scene. He was horrified with what he saw going on.

'The savagery..' he thought. 'These men are nothing more than monsters, barbarians. No self-control, no sense of responsibility for themselves or others. They need to learn from a stronger-will.'  
Out of his fascination with biology and the recent accident with Ben Parker, Peter believed that self-control and restraint was a unique and valuable trait which allowed organisms to weigh pain and pleasure and measure success. These men clearly didn't have general success and well-being in mind in perpetuating an environment with weak intentions.

"I take it you gentlemen haven't heard of courting a damsel." Spiderman sarcastically said to the group of men.

"Yeah, well fuck you!" retorted one of them.

With that Spiderman quickly lunged on the fellow who cursed at him and proceeded to smash his fist right into the mans cranium. Spiderman pulled his fist out from the brains of the dead fellow and before the group could shoot him he quickly darted and pounced on another one of them.

The police had shown up at the Parker's house on the night of Ben's death, to let them know of Ben's fate and for momentary support. They had no suspicion that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Frankly, Ben Parker didn't really matter to them. What was done is done in their eyes. They knew who committed the crime, but they were more eager to find out who killed Ben's murderer. Never for a second did they suspect a high-school nerd, instead they thought it could've been some scientific freak-experiment.

The cops arrived at the penthouse suite of Norman Osbourne. They had some questions to ask him about his recent experiments in relation to the fate of Cliff Baker. Upon walking in the penthouse they were overwhelmed by its size. It was almost like a mansion. The interior looked grand and Victorian, and there were a variety of rare and expensive objects lying about: paintings, artifacts, etc. Norman was sitting at large desk made of dark wood by the window, which overlooked the busy streets of New York City.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?"

"We're here because we've been investigating a recent case, you may have heard of it in the news, that of the murder of Cliff Baker."

"Ah Yes!" said Norman excitedly. "If it weren't for police reports one might question the validity of that story. However, I have some theories."

Norman Osbourne was a brilliant chemist and a biologist. He had a son, Harry. Norman's wife had passed away when Harry was a boy, but it was a loss Norman mourned immensely. He had met his wife in university. Her name was Emily. She was a charming, smart and attractive brunette, but more importantly she cared about Norman up until her very last minutes.

"Norman," she had said upon death. "Live well. Be happy. That's all I want for you."  
Her frail hand reached out to hold his.  
Norman's heart sunk as she said this, and tears poured down from his eyes.

Like Peter, Norman was fascinated by biology and the exploration of science. He was almost like a mad scientist, always devising strange theories that would hold out in practice and upon experimentation. The truth was that he wished he could have credit for this Spider-Man. It was a marvel in biology to him. In fact, he had been well aware of the situation before the police came to see him because of its obscure, cryptozoological element.

"I think that what you're dealing with could be one of two things." Norman explained.

"We could either be dealing with a human who has developed new features, or we're not dealing with a human at all."

"Developed new features?" asked one of the officers. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Norman went on. "Through technology or, perhaps some kind of physical adjustment, a human could theoretically give themselves the kind of abilities displayed at the scene of the crime.  
If a physical adjustment is the case, it seems to be that we could be dealing with a mutant here.  
The cause was either some kind of sudden development, or this being started off with the abilities you bore witness to at the scene of the crime, it was mutated from the start."

Super-powered mutants weren't unusual in this world. In fact it was filled with them. People were born all the time with special abilities. They were a minority, but their presence wasn't uncommon. Some of them had yet to develop their abilities, others knew how. Mutants aren't the only ones with abilities in this world either. There are teams and groups of people with powers, some of which are acquired through being mutated at birth, others which develop through sudden mutation or technology. Technology is seen being used in the case of Iron Man, who developed a super-powered robotic suit for himself.

Norman had already started investigating his theories on the recent case. He appointed two of his best scientists: Dr. Otto Octavius and Dr. Curt Connors. He had Octavius - a bulky man who was often hunched over and wore thick, round glasses - research the possibility of using technology to reenact the abilities which were used against Baker. He had Connors - a lean man with short curly brown hair, of average height - research the possibility of genetic modification with the DNA of a non-human species.


	5. The Osborns

**Chapter 5: The Osborns **

Three men sat at a long table together in a meeting room at the Oscorp main building in New York. They were on the fifty-first floor, high off the ground, overlooking the busy streets.

"Read the newspaper today, Otto?"

"Yes Norman."

"That's Dr. Osborn to you."

Otto Octavius sighed.

"Apologies Dr. Osborn."

"Fascinating stuff in the news.

That fellow was really strung up."

Norman Osborn proceeded to cackle as he said this. His dark, medium-length hair fell onto his face, and so he pushed it back into its slicked position. Norman Osborn looked mature and aged yet acute and sharp. Behind his cold eyes lay an intellect, as mentioned before. He was indeed a free spirit and an explorer of boundaries and possibilities, but Norman was also a devil inside. Since the death of his wife he had become sheerly egotistical - without any regard for his values, without any regard for himself. Although, there was a small part of him that still cared for Harry.

Curt Connors looked at Norman awkwardly as he laughed. It had been awhile since Connors had spoken to Osborn directly. Connors had been off doing independent research.

"Otto, Norman, as a friend and fellow scientist I'm going to be blunt with you. I have to advise we approach this matter with caution and consideration. We don't know what we're dealing with here. We also need to keep the perpetrators intentions in mind. As far as we're concerned he was stopping a crime. He could just be another super and we need to respect that!"

"Tell that to Norman.. or.. my apologies.. Dr. Osborn"

Norman glared at Connors.

"Of all the nerve!

How typical Connors! What a weak will you have!

Where's your palate for the indigestible? Your curiosity for rarities?

This "super" is on the down-low, and we should get on this while were ahead,

before he gains recognition.

Besides the brutality of his vigilance has created some ambiguity which could work in our favour.

The people are uncertain and afraid, despite the values they try to impose upon this "hero".

You're just as bad as they are, you're as bad as the rabble Connors!"

Dr. Curt Connors looked down in silence.

"Now, if you don't want to loose your job I suggest you get on this. There's so much to do. So many possibilities at play, so much to look into!

Otto, I want you to look into the possibility of technology at play.

Connors, you're going to look into the possibility of some kind of mutation.

And if I hear any more out of you, Connors, you'll loose your job and I'll ruin you!

Your wife, your kids, they will suffer the consequences of your defiance!"

Curt Connors heart sunk as Norman Osborn yelled those final words at him. Connors was fascinated by scientific processes, he didn't ego-trip like Osborn. Connors had an innocent and curious face. His short, curly brown hair only complimented this. His wife had always said he had a warm look to him.

'My wife,' Connors thought to himself. 'I can't let her get involved or suffer because of me. I just can't!'

Connors cringed at the prospect of his family loosing their financial support, being thrown into poverty. He cringed at the prospect of them sinking to lows, suffering from a bad environment. He cringed at the thought of Osborn making their lives miserable. He felt sick.

"This meeting is adjourned." said Norman Osborn with a satisfied smile.

'Now I have other matters to attend to.' Osborn thought to himself.

This was true. Osborn was curious about the savage nature of the crime and the strength required to rip someones face off. Osborn didn't know about Peter's web-trick.

'I recall a professor who researched a formula which resulted in savage behaviour and incredible strength.' Osborn thought to himself as he got into his car.

'Mendel Stromm, that was his name. Brilliant but crazy. He might have the answers I'm looking for, or perhaps he'll have more in store for me.'

Osborn walked into his penthouse suite and headed for his office. In one of the cabinets, which contained a variety of obscure yet highly-intelligent research, he found Stromm's research.

"Project: Goblin." the file read.

Norman sat at his desk and began reading into research that would change his life forever.

"Dad, I'm home!" yelled his son Harry from the lower floor.

"In my office son!"

Harry walked up the stairs.

"Dad, I'm really not enjoying this new school." Harry said casually while walking up the stairs.

Harry approached his father's office door. He knocked

"Dad?

Can I come in?"

"Not now son," Norman relied abruptly.

"I'm busy."

Harry morosely walked down the hall, made a turn into another hallway, and lay down on his grand, king sized bed in - what he thought was - an oversized bedroom.

Harry didn't have much on the walls. He had a desk with a computer, a bookshelf, a dresser and he had a TV across from his bed.

Harry was 6'. He had the same dark coloured hair as his father.

His eyes stared distantly into the world and were tinged with melancholy.

Harry loved his father, but he felt neglected.

He wondered what would come of his day tomorrow as he lay in his bed.

Harry slowly nodded off. He didn't have dinner that night, nor did his father leave his office that night.

Harry awoke to knocking on the door. His father opened the door and peeked in.

"Hey buddy,

I'm just heading over to Oscorp. I'm meeting with the police today, then I'm heading to the lap."

Harry yawned, and in a disgruntled tone said, "Ok Dad, have a good day."

"You too bud.

Oh, and hey,

don't get too down about school and what-not.

Just keep on moving forward and I'm sure things will turn out well for you.

You're an Osborn, keep your head up."

Wearily, Harry waved to his Dad so as to signal him to leave. Harry then put on a red sweater made of luxurious material and a nice pair of blue jeans. He got ready for school and left.

'Keep on moving forward.'

Harry's fathers words echoed in his mind.

Whilst walking to Midtown High, Harry noticed two people walking together, one of whom he knew was in a similar boat as he was socially, Peter Parker - a total outcast, a nerd. The other was a girl, she was quite attractive. Harry found her her silky, long-blonde flowing hair to be beautiful.

'Maybe she'll talk to me.' he thought to himself.

'Seeing as she's up for talking to rejects.'

Harry had his second period english class with the blonde-haired girl. He had found out her name, it was Gwen Stacy. He made sure to take a seat beside her.

"So, what do you think of all this Oedipus stuff?" Harry whispered to Glenn during the teachers lecture.

She smiled at him. She didn't want to say anything negative about the work of Sophocles, in fear Harry might be a nerd (a type of person she had plenty of exposure too through Peter) and even worse, a literary-nerd. She decided to try for being honest, even if only slightly.

"I don't know what to think of it." she lied. "I can see how some might like it, I suppose?"

"It all seems boo-ringg to me." said Harry.

Gwen laughed at Harry's bluntness. Harry smiled.

Lunch arrived and Peter Parker was putting stuff away in his locker before going to meet Gwen. Upon closing the locker, he saw Mary Jane standing right beside him.

"Hey Peter," she said.

"Uhh.. M.J," Peter said nervously, "long time no talk!"

"Yeah, it's been awhile." she said as she smiled.

"How've you been?"

"Look," she said.

"I just want to apologize for Flash's behaviour earlier.

I also want to apologize for not having spoken to you for all these years,

I think about our childhood adventures all the time."

M.J laughed as she said the last bit.

"I think about it too!" Peter exclaimed abruptly and excitedly.

"Yeah, right, well," M.J laughed nervously.

"We should catch up some-time Peter.

I'm right next door after all."

Peter's heart leapt with delight. M.J talked to him! M.J invited him to come see her!

'Or did she?..' he thought to himself.

Peter then began to feel doubtful.

'She was probably just apologizing out of guilt.' he thought to himself coldly with his typical, pessimistic attitude conditioned by years as "the nerd".

Peter arrived in the cafeteria only to find Gwen was sitting with another fellow. Peter recognized him as a fellow outcast. The new, rich-kid student: Harry Osborn.

"Peter," Gwen said as Peter sat down.

"I'd like you to meet Harry.

Harry, Peter."

"Hey Peter," said Harry, attempting a warm smile as he extended out his hand.

_'Keep your head up.' _

'Seems nice enough.' Peter thought to himself. And he shook Harry's hand.


	6. A Day in the Life

**Chapter 6: A Day in the Life**

Sorrow. There had been nothing but sorrow since the death of Ben Parker. It was a feeling that constantly needed fulfilling, and so, Peter Parker made it his duty to patrol the streets as much as he could. He felt he had to do all he could. Because of his frequent patrols, his spider-sense grew, and his ability to sense activity in the city increased.

Manhattan and New York city were like the web of Peter Parker. This was a curse as much as it was a blessing. Slowly, Peter's school life had deteriorated as he started tending to his needs as the spider of the city. In class he would be alerted of: robberies, break in and entries, or, less occasionally a case of murder or rape, and Peter would have to miss the rest of the lesson in order to attend to the crime. Peter's grades started to decrease and the appeal of school started to narrow down to seeing Gwen, Harry and M.J.

Since Peter had acquired his ability, a sense of passion slowly grew in him. His passion took to great heights initially, and went beyond itself, only to find it had no wings and wasn't grounded in anything. Too late did he find out that while he was off pursuing vain ambitions in the skies, his dearest uncle had been killed. Peter's passion crash-landed into his life and his burning heart resided back in its normal home, behind the cold lens of consideration. By no means did the flame inside of Parker extinguish, but it comported itself towards his values and his views. He had to accept his life and go with it anyways - he had to think and act. His brutality remained but it was now put towards his own reality, his own emotional investments, his responsibility towards his environment and values within.

Over the past couple of weeks Peter had started to become friends with Harry Osborn. In Peter's eyes Harry was somewhat unintelligent, but he had a charismatic personality with depth and character, which Peter couldn't help but be drawn into. Harry was warm-hearted too, frequently inviting Peter over and asking to hang out with him.

"Hey Peter," said a warm, friendly voice from behind the open door of Peter Parker's locker on a mid-December day.

Harry Osborn knocked on Peter's open locker door as he said this.

Peter Parker closed the locker door only to find a smiling Harry standing at his side.

"Hi Harry, how's it going?"

"Good.. I'm good pal. Always with the formalities, huh?

Loosen up a bit, buddy.

What'd you get up to yesterday after-school?

Catch up on the cellular structure of fungus?"

Harry laughed as he said this.

"Very funny.

What'd you get up to?

Catch up on your porno-stash?

Or maybe you were peeking out the window trying to catch a glimpse of someone's tits?"

"Ha-ha. Very funny yourself," Harry responded sarcastically.

"No actually, for your information smart-guy, I bought the newest version of "Master Quest".

Maybe you've heard of it?"

"No way!" Peter responded.

"You're totally having me over after school."

Harry and Peter walked together to the cafeteria, talking and joking around. They eventually arrived at the table Gwen Stacy was sitting at. Her blue eyes gazed up them, she focused on Peter then smiled and waved.

"Hey Gwen," said Peter as he sat down.

"Hi Peter."

Gwen smiled at him.

"Harry." Gwen said, acknowledging him with a smile.

"Hey Gwen," Harry said with an elaborate wink.

"Ugh," Gwen sighted. "You just scream perv Harry."

She laughed as she said that and Harry chuckled.

"So I'm going to do it, either today after-school or tomorrow morning." Peter announced.

"Do what?" asked Harry.

"Develop the atom-bomb?" he joked.

"No Harry,

and if that's what it was I'd make sure to drop it on your thick skull."

"Oh-ho!"

Harry laughed.

"So, what're you going to do?" asked Gwen eagerly yet at the same time, she asked this hopelessly.

Gwen knew what Peter was going to ask.

Ever since M.J apologized to him Peter had been on the fence about her. He was confused and interested.

Gwen tried to be supportive of Peter, she cared for him immensely, but that was also the problem. Her feelings for Peter outweighed her altruistic principles. She wanted him for herself. She wanted to take him into her arms and prevent anyone from having him. She didn't know how to tell him this. She didn't want to yet she felt she had to. She thought if she confessed her feelings for him things would be ruined between them. Gwen Stacy had been in love with Peter ever since she saw the feelings inside of him, ever since she was drawn into his emotional depths. She couldn't escape and she wanted to trap him for herself. She was overwhelmed by him.

Before Peter could make his announcement his spider-sense went off.

"Sorry guys, got to run!"

"Off again?" asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, business calls!"

Gwen and Harry looked at each other as Peter left the cafeteria.

"What do you think he goes off to do?" Harry asked, concerned.

"I don't know. But ever since the death of his uncle, Peter has become a lot different.."

Gwen looked down morosely as she said this.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, he's become a lot more caring, verging on always-worried. That's for sure.

He's still a bit distant nonetheless though, I mean, it's Peter."

Harry laughed as Gwen said this. Gwen went on.

"He always asks me to text him when I get home.

I think there might be some stuff going on with his aunt.

He could also have a job of some sorts.

I can't imagine that it's easy for Peter and his aunt to sustain themselves financially."

Peter did have a job, or at least a duty to fulfil.

Bangbangbang!

The automatic M-16 shot a trail of bullets at Spiderman, who dashed out of the way.

"You son of a bitch!" the masked bank-robber screamed as he fired again, horizontally, into the air.

Spiderman had already lunged at him a few times and whacked his skull up. The robbers jaw was broken. His partner, the driver, had already had his skull smashed in, in a single blow. This "Spider-Man" was unreal. He was terrible yet swift, cunning.

"I doubt you're of "noble birth"!" Spiderman responded while sticking to a portion of the ruined banks ceiling.

"Stooping to such lows and all.

Your presumably dirty mother would be ashamed!"

Spiderman lunged at the robber, avoiding a spray of bullets, and lodged his fist in the man's ribs. The man winced and looked at him, and Spiderman saw something that made his heart sink.

He saw tears streaming down the robbers face.

"My.. family" the robber said, as he choked on his last words.

While Spiderman swung on ropes of web, back to Mid-town High, he thought about what had just happened.

'Maybe not all of these criminals are scum,' he thought to himself.

'Maybe the people who set the law should be the criminals, the ones getting executed.. making people stoop to such lows.'

Peter felt tears well up in his eyes over the act he had committed. That man clearly didn't have bad intentions.

Peter Parker felt irresponsible yet again. He should've shown more consideration

"Get the loot! Get the loot!" Harry Osborn exclaimed to Peter Parker, who stared out the window in Harry's bedroom distantly.

"Sorry," Peter said, disgruntled, as he turned to the plasma screen television and got back into the game.

Harry Osborn pondered what was up with his currently-estranged friend. After some time passed, Harry turned off the game system.

"Pete, what's up pal?" he asked, looking concerned at his cold-eyed friend.

Peter looked away.

"You've got it so good Harry.." he said, softly and morosely.

"That's not true." Harry said, stern and abrupt. He felt his emotions flow.

"Just because I have money and a family..

That doesn't mean they mean anything..

Where's the satisfaction with something you have no bond with!" he exclaimed.

Peter looked at his friend, shocked.

Part of Peter felt like Harry was just taking things for granted,

but another part of Peter saw something in Harry, something similar to him.

He saw loneliness in Harry's eyes and in Harry's tone of voice.

"I know what it's like to feel isolated, Harry." Peter responded.

"Ever since I lost my uncle Ben, it's like my heart feels incomplete.

It's like my life lacks meaning. Like I can't truly express myself anymore."

"My problem is with my Father.." Harry confessed.

"He just always ignores me. He always puts his research before me.

I have family, but he's not my friend anymore. Not since my mother passed away."

Peter thought about this and further considered the condition of his friend. Peter realized that Harry too, lacked a father figure in his life. Harry also lacked a mother, and a friendly family environment, something that Peter always had. Peter remembered the lively nature of the dinner table with his aunt and uncle. Peter even had distant memories of the warmth and kindness of the environment with his parents.

Harry Osborn walked with Peter Parker, back to Parker's house at night.

"Harry?"

"Yeah Pete?"

"Have you even wronged someone with good-intentions before?"

Harry was taken aback by this question.

"What do you mean Peter?"

"Well," Peter went on.

"Have you ever done something with seemingly good intentions, only to find you end up wronging the good guy in the end?"

Peter thought about both his uncle and the recent fellow who he had killed.

"I haven't." replied Harry.

"But my dad says, when you're faced with problems you've got to keep going forward.

I suppose you've got to do what you can, I guess."

Peter remembered what motivated him to be Spider-Man in the first place and felt a rekindled sense of heroism. He felt re-invigorated with those words.

Later on that night, after he and aunt May had eaten in the warmth of each other's company, and his aunt had gone to sleep, Peter Parker swung on ropes of web through the street as Spider-Man. He would keep an ear out for the pleas of criminals now. He would do justice, and do what he could.

'Who knows?' he thought to himself.

'Now that I've recognized sometimes the law givers are the corrupters, I might have to keep an eye out on the police.'

After awhile of swinging through the city, Spiderman's spider sense started tingling immensely.

Spiderman arrived at a residential area. The streets were isolated, except for two people who were walking, distanced from one another.

Spiderman took to the roofs and crawled along their tops, keeping hidden in the shadows.

'What is this?' Spiderman thought to himself, as his spider-sense grew stronger.

He watched.

The fellow who was behind the other started to speed up, the fellow in front of him sped up as well.

"H-help me!" the fellow in the front screamed. The fellow in the front stopped and turned around.

"I'll give you all I have!" he yelled.

"You better!" Spiderman heard the robber behind him say.

'A small-time robbery?' Spiderman thought to himself.

'I haven't encountered this before…

That means my spider sense is growing..

That means there must have been some crimes which I didn't prevent too!

Dammit!'

Spiderman lunged at the criminal. He tackled him to the ground.

Spiderman then got off the man and proceeded to wrap him in webs.

'Alright,' Spiderman thought to himself, 'I'll be merciful to the small time crooks, unless their real nasty, but as for the real corrupt monsters. They've got to go. They only tangle up my web!' he resolved.

"Call the cops!" Spiderman said to the victim - a man of medium-build, dressed for work.

Spiderman hung the robber from the street-light by the rope of web he had wrapped him in.

"Sir," Spiderman said.

"You've just been busted by your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman!"


End file.
